Marine Ecosystems

Grades 3-5

This set of marine community illustrations can be used as visual aids during formal or informal instruction while teaching about the marine realm. There are three versions of each illustration:

unlabeled illustration

titled, unlabeled illustration

titled, labeled illustration

The three different versions were created in order to provide materials that best suit the needs of any educational situation.

Different areas of the ocean can be classified as different types of marine ecosystems. An ecosystem is defined as "a community and the interactions of living and nonliving things in an area." Marine ecosystems have distinct organisms and characteristics that result from the unique combination of physical factors that create them. Marine ecosystems include: the abyssal plain (areas like deep sea coral, whale falls, and brine pools), polar regions such as the Antarctic and Arctic, coral reefs, the deep sea (such as the community found in the abyssal water column), hydrothermal vents, kelp forests, mangroves, the open ocean, rocky shores, salt marshes and mudflats, and sandy shores.

The hydrosphere connects all freshwater and saltwater systems. Salinity, or high salt content, and global circulation make marine ecosystems different from other aquatic ecosystems. Other physical factors that determine the distribution of marine ecosystems are geology, temperature, tides, light availability, and geography.

Some marine ecosystems are very productive. Near-shore regions, including estuaries, salt marshes, and mangrove forests, teem with life. Others, like the abyssal plain at the bottom of the ocean, contain pockets of life that are spread far apart from one another. Some marine ecosystems, like the deep sea, are in constant darkness where photosynthesis cannot occur. Other ecosystems, like rocky shores, go through extreme changes in temperature, light availability, oxygen levels, and other factors on a daily basis. The organisms that inhabit various marine ecosystems are as diverse as the ecosystems themselves. They must be highly adapted to the physical conditions of the ecosystem in which they live. For example, organisms that live in the deep sea have adapted to the darkness by creating their own light source—photophores are cells on their bodies that light up to attract prey or potential mates. Many parts of the ocean remain unexplored and much still remains to be learned about marine ecosystems.

Polar bears paws are up to 12 inches long. They act like snowshoes for polar bears in the Arctic, preventing them from sinking into the ice and snow.

Angler fish that live in the deep sea ecosystem can eat prey that is twice its size because of its large mouth and huge stomach.

Octopuses can squirt ink out of their backsides, which forms a smoke-like cloud that will help them to escape from a predator.

A squabble is the term for a group of seagulls.

Sperm whales can dive more than 1.6 kilometers (one mile) below the surface of the water.

Male seahorses give birth, rather than female seahorses.

Giant tube worms, located in the hydrothermal vent ecosystem at 2,499 meters (8,200 feet) below the surface, have long, white bodies and no eyes, mouth, or stomach. The worms soak up chemicals from the hydrothermal vent to feed to the bacteria living inside them. In return, the bacteria make food for the tube worm.

Media Credits

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Writer

Julie Brown, National Geographic Society

Illustrator

Tim Gunther, Illustrator

Page Producer

Jason Wasser

Last Updated

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